Discovering the Northeast Side of Oahu, Hawaii

A few days ago, my family and I acted like tourists and travelled to the northeast side of Oahu, a part of the island almost completely unknown to us. We started at the sacred Valley of the Temples, where we saw the Byodo-In Temple, a small-scale replica of the original Byodo-In Temple in Japan that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

​The nine-foot tall Buddha was particularly impressive. The intricate design of the metalwork behind it was truly striking.
But the giant bell meant to get rid of evil spirits had to be my favorite part.

Then, we continued on our drive up the coast until we reached Kualoa Point, where we took amazing pictures of the beach and the island of Mokoli’i. To locals, this island is known as Chinaman’s Hat, because of its shape. Fun fact: Chinaman’s Hat is only a fifteen minute kayak journey away from shore! And once you reach the island, there is a fifteen minute hike waiting for you as well!

After relaxing there for a bit, we made our way to our final destination: Laie Point. I was honestly shocked by how beautiful it was. Tucked away on a side road in between some residential homes was this awesome view: